During the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, while still playing for Pittsburgh, Talbot scored his team's only two goals in Pittsburgh's 2–1 victory over Detroit in the series-deciding Game 7, securing the Penguins' Stanley Cup championship win.

Before the start of the 2002–03 season, Talbot was named team captain for the Olympiques and finished the year with a major junior career-high 46 goals and 104 points in 69 games, good for fifth in League scoring and for QMJHL Second All-Star Team honours.[1] In the playoffs that year, he led the League in scoring with 44 points in 20 games as he captained the Olympiques to a QMJHL Championship, also earning the Guy Lafleur Trophy as playoff MVP in the process. Playing the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Kitchener Rangers in the final of the subsequent 2003 Memorial Cup, they were defeated by a 6–3 score.

In the 2003–04 season, Talbot finished third in scoring in the QMJHL with 98 points (25 goals and 73 assists) in 51 games as the team became the Gatineau Olympiques through the almagamation of Hull into the City of Gatineau. He led the team to a second consecutive QMJHL championship while again being named playoff MVP and leading the League in post-season scoring for the second-straighy year. He was the first to earn back-to-back Guy Lafleur Trophies since Marc Saumier in 1987 and 1988.[1] The Olympiques were, however, defeated for the second-straight year in the Memorial Cup Final, losing to the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Kelowna Rockets 2–1.

As the 2004–05 season approached, Talbot was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and was assigned to make his debut with the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He was assigned to various linemates and was placed in many role playing opportunities.[1] He did not have the offensive power in the AHL, however, that he did in the QMJHL, but nonetheless Talbot showed quality traits in other aspects of the game as he finished his debut season with 19 points (seven goals and 12 assists) in 75 games.[1]

With an impressive training camp, Talbot made the Penguins' opening roster for the 2005–06 season, making his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils. He scored his first career NHL goal on October 14, 2005, from centre ice against the Philadelphia Flyers. His primary role during his rookie season was that of a penalty killer.[1] He would later be sent back down to the AHL after 48 games in the NHL, during which time he recorded eight points (five goals and three assists).

Talbot did not start the 2006–07 season in the NHL, but was recalled by Pittsburgh on October 24, 2006, just five games into the AHL season.[2] He would play that same night against New Jersey. Talbot continued to play a key role on the penalty kill, recording four short-handed goals to go with a season total of 24 points (13 goals and 11 assists).

Talbot scored four goals in the first five games of the 2007–08 season. He was the part of an on-ice prank on December 1, 2007, when he briefly donned the jersey of teammate Sidney Crosby during an optional practice that Crosby had chosen to skip. He initially drew a large cheer from the crowd in Toronto before they realized the jersey switch.

In Game 3 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Talbot scored a backhand goal against Ottawa Senators goaltender Martin Gerber less than five minutes after the Senators had taken the lead in that game. In the Conference Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers, Talbot scored the game-winning goal in the third period of Game 2. He did this in his first game back from a broken foot that had sidelined him for the previous four playoff games. In Game 5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored the tying goal with 35 seconds remaining, allowing the Penguins to score in triple overtime to force a Game 6.

Midway through the final year of his initial contract with the Penguins, 2008–09, Talbot re-signed on December 19, 2008, to a two-year contract extension through the 2010–11 season. The Penguins returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second consecutive year against Detroit. Talbot scored both of the Penguins' goals in the seventh and deciding game of the series to capture the franchise's third Stanley Cup.[3]

Whilst playing for the Penguins, Talbot has appeared in numerous television commercials, including Valley Pool and Spa, City of Champions Crunch cereal (which featured Talbot on one side of the box and Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward on the other), and three commercials for Pittsburgh A&L Motor Sales (these A&L commercials have earned him the nickname "Superstar"). He also appeared in an Reebok commercial with teammate Sidney Crosby which aired during the 2010 NHL Winter Classic.

After being unable to come to terms with the Penguins on a new contract, Talbot signed a five-year, $8.75 million contract with the Penguin's in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers on July 1, 2011. On December 29, 2011, during a 4–2 Philadelphia victory, Talbot scored an empty net goal in his first game back in Pittsburgh against the Penguins since signing with the Flyers. He would finish his first season in Philadelphia appearing in 81 regular season games, scoring 19 goals and 15 assists for a total of 34 points; all three statistics were NHL career-highs for Talbot. Talbot and the Flyers would ultimately face the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals of the 2012 playoffs, a series that saw the Flyers defeat the Penguins in six games. Talbot scored four goals during the series, two of which were short-handed.

On December 21, 2015, the NHL announced that it was suspending Talbot for two games because of a hit on New Jersey Devils forward Jiri Tlusty in a game on Dec. 20.[9]

At the conclusion of his contract with the Bruins, and as an impending free agent, Talbot opted to continue his career abroad in the Kontinental Hockey League, agreeing to a one-year deal with Russian club Lokomotiv Yaroslavl on May 27, 2016.[10]

Talbot's father, Serge, is a construction worker; his mother Lucie is a high school teacher.[11] Talbot has two older brothers, Will and Frank.[11] Maxime Talbot married former Canadian figure skating champion Cynthia Phaneuf on July 11, 2014.[12][13] Their first child, a son, was born on February 27, 2014.[14] A second child was born in January 2016. Talbot is the childhood best friend of former Colorado Avalanche defenceman Bruno Gervais.